Showing titles in Medieval

Dominion, the fifth volume in Peter Ackroyd’s masterful History of England, begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to a post-war depression and ends with the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901. Spanning the end of the Regency, Ackroyd takes listeners...

Winters in the World is a beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England, exploring the festivals, customs, and traditions linked to the different seasons. Drawing on a wide variety of source material, including poetry, histories, and religious literature, Eleanor Parker investigates how Anglo-Saxons felt about the annual passing of the seasons and the profound relationship they saw between human life and the rhythms of nature.

As the Black Death swept across Europe, killing up to a half of the population in certain areas, a young Geoffrey Chaucer came of age in England. While he and his family avoided the worst of the disease, all were shaped by its presence and impact on the British island. With expert Simon Doubleday, professor of history at Hofstra University, in After the Plague, examine medieval literature like The Canterbury Tales for firsthand accounts from minority voices not typically heard from in the period.

Richard II was young, handsome, and elegant. Last living child of the brilliant Black Prince, he came to the throne bearing the hopes of his people on his shoulders. His court glittered; his tastes were refined; his portraits shone with gold. Regal, composed, aloof, he was the very picture of majesty. He became a murderous, capricious tyrant. His favorites plotted against his family. He rewrote the laws of England to give himself absolute power. He raised an army against his own subjects. His subjects deposed him.

The Inventive Peasant Arnaud du Tilh had almost persuaded the learned judges at the Parlement of Toulouse, when on a summer's day in 1560 a man swaggered into the court on a wooden leg, denounced Arnaud, and reestablished his claim to the identity, property, and wife of Martin Guerre. The astonishing case captured the imagination of the Continent. Natalie Zemon Davis reconstructs the lives of ordinary people, in a sparkling way that reveals the hidden attachments and sensibilities of nonliterate 16th-century villagers.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts written and read by Christopher de Hamel. This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is rather like meeting a very famous person...

In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England's queens in the century after the Norman Conquest. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in 1066, to the turbulent...

In this indispensable volume, one of America's ranking scholars combines a life's work of research and teaching with the art of lively narration. Both authoritative and beautifully told, The Middle Ages is the full story of the thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance - a time that saw the rise of kings and emperors, the flowering of knighthood, the development of Europe, the increasing power of the Catholic Church, and the advent of the middle class.

The reign of Richard III, the last Yorkist king and the final monarch of the Plantagenet dynasty, marked a turning point in British history. But despite his lasting legacy, Richard only ruled as king for the final two years of his life. While much attention has been given to his short reign, Michael Hicks explores the whole of Richard's fascinating life and traces the unfolding of his character and career from his early years as the son of a duke to his violent death at the battle of Bosworth.

Nearly killed while trying to win back his ancestral home, Black Richard MacCullough is left scarred and mangled; but some scars run far deeper than mere skin. No longer the handsome devil or kind man of his youth, now he focuses solely on rebuilding everything that was lost to the brutal Chisolms and traitorous MacRays. Revenge - while not nearly as important as keeping his clan from starving - is the only thing that keeps his bruised heart beating.

Uncover the epic medieval history of Norse raiders who grew from local farmers to global conquerors. Perfect for an adventurous commute, this immersive historical journey explores the dramatic rise of a seafaring empire. Travel from the freezing fjords of Scandinavia to the rivers of the Middle...

The medieval humoral system of medicine suggested that it was possible to die from having too much - or too little - sex, while the Roman Catholic Church taught that virginity was the ideal state. Holy men and women committed themselves to lifelong abstinence in the name of religion. Everyone was forced to conform to restrictive rules about who they could have sex with, in what way, how often, and even when, and could be harshly punished for getting it wrong. 

Heralded as one the world’s most compelling Church historians, Chris Bellitto transports you into the heart of a strange and wonderful world—the world of medieval Europe. Explore some of the most powerful theological ideas, economic tensions, and political struggles that shaped Western...

»Alles, was wir über Weihnachten wissen, ist falsch. Eine großartige Lektüre.« Matthew Parris Wer hat den Adventskalender erfunden? Und wer verschickte die erste Weihnachtskarte? Erfolgsautor Mark Forsyth liefert eine launige Geschichtensammlung über die Ursprünge unserer liebsten...

It is said that a monument now stands before the high church of Caerleon: an anvil pierced through with a sword. It is said that the sword can only be taken by the Britons' rightful king... From Sunday Times bestseller Amy Jeffs', Arthur: A New Life mines the deep, elusive seams of a story we...

An acclaimed historian illuminates today's political situation by examining the relationship between governing and storytelling, from the Middle Ages to the "post-truth" present, in these engaging essays. In the wake of Donald Trump's election, renowned medievalist Patrick Boucheron delivered a...

Bloomsbury presents Tyrants and Traders: Tintagel, Arthur and the Lost Kings by Ken Dark, read by Edward Rowe. Discover exciting new research illuminating the most mysterious centuries of British history. How Roman Britain ended is one of the most controversial questions in British history...

The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Children of Ash and Elm and award-winning expert on the Vikings brings us even closer to their world Who do we think of when we think about the Vikings? Most of us are familiar with the seafaring marauders who raided, traded and settled the coasts of...

The New York Times bestseller that tells the story of Britain’s greatest and worst dynasty—“a real-life Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)—by the author of Powers and Thrones. The first Plantagenet king inherited a blood-soaked kingdom from the Normans and transformed it into...

'A fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position' Dan Jones, Sunday Times 'Superb storytelling ... captivating and profound' Literary Review 'A page-turner' The Spectator *A major new reinterpretation of Christendom, by one of our foremost medieval historians* In the...